Chesterfield Inlet (June 11/03) - Four Kivalliq students gave a strong account of themselves at the Canada-wide Science Fair in Calgary, Alberta, this past month.

Chesterfield Inlet students Joanna Samok and Mary Kadjuk met up with a much friendlier bear at the Canada-wide Science Fair in Calgary, Alberta, than what's usually found in Nunavut. - photo courtesy of Glen Brocklebank

Homer Jr. Obszarski and Abraham Eetak of Arviat won a special engineering award and $250 for their project, Ski-Doo Scrubber.

The project also received an honourable mention in the junior category.

While Chesterfield Inlet's Mary Kadjuk and Joanna Samok weren't as successful with their project (Testing Inuit Thread; Ivalu vs. Sinew) in the tougher senior category, they quickly became the media darlings of the fair.

Teacher Glen Brocklebank was one of the chaperons for the trip.

He said the girls wore home-made jackets with the Nunavut flag on them that their parents had made for them.

"The jackets made them stand out right away," said Brocklebank.

"During the opening ceremonies, they were asked to appear on Calgary's Breakfast Television.

"There were only five projects selected out of 466 kids to go on TV to show the fair's diversity."

A picture of the Chester girls was the first to appear on the Internet about the science fair.

They also landed themselves starring roles in four of the six mini-videos shot highlighting the fair, which included the chance to do a 10-second segment in Inuktitut.

"A lot of people were extremely interested in their project because it dealt with caribou and natural fibres in a ivalu-versus-sinew context.

"So, many, many people asked them a lot of questions about Nunavut and their culture."

The four Kivalliq students opted for a tour of the Banff area while in Calgary.

The students learned about the Rocky Mountains and also travelled to Lake Louise and Sulphur Mountain.

And, of course, there was also a fair amount of mall visiting and shopping to be done.

"We also bowled, which Mary (Kadjuk) had never done before.

"As luck would have it, she nailed a strike on her second shot and then loved it after that.

"The science fair also promoted a talent show and our two Arviat students (Obszarski and Eetak) got up and sang a traditional Inuktitut song in front of all the participants and the chaperons."